Harmanus Bleecker

Early life

Harmanus Bleecker was born into an old Dutch family in Albany, New York on October 9, 1779. His father Jacob Bleecker was a prominent merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Wendell was the daughter of Hermanus Wendell, an Albany furrier. Harmanus Bleecker was also the great-great grandson of Jan Jansen Bleecker, the first Bleecker family member to reside in North America. As a young man, Harmanus Bleecker studied law with John Vernon Henry and James Emott, was admitted to the bar in 1801, and commenced practice in Albany. During a large portion of his career, Bleecker practiced at the firm of Bleecker & Sedgwick with Theodore Sedgwick (1780-1839) as his partner.

Bleecker was also a highly regarded teacher, and among the students who learned the law in his office were: David Dudley Field (1805–1894); Stephen Johnson Field; Charlemagne Tower; Bradford R. Wood; Peter Gansevoort; Solomon Southwick; Timothy Childs, and Charles Fenno Hoffman.

Political, legal and business career

He was elected as a Federalist to the 12th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1811 to March 3, 1813. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1812 and resumed the practice of law in Albany.

Bleecker also pursued several business ventures, including serving on the board of directors of Albany's Mechanics and Farmers Bank. In addition, he was a Trustee of the Erie and Champlain Canals.

Bleecker was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1814 and 1815.

Though Bleecker had been an opponent of the War of 1812 while in Congress, during the war he worked with Governor Daniel D. Tompkins to finance the equipping, supplying and pay of the state militia after it was federalized.

In 1817 Bleecker received an honorary LL.D. degree from Union College, and he was an honorary member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. From 1822 to 1834 Bleecker was a member of the University of the State of New York Board of Regents.

Bleecker opposed slavery, and was a member of the American Colonization and New-York Colonization Societies. The societies advocated for the gradual emancipation of slaves, and for free African Americans to be relocated to what society members believed was greater freedom in Africa, including the colony of Liberia.

In the late 1820s Bleecker was one of New York's Commissioners who worked with Commissioners from New Jersey to determine the boundary between the two states.

In 1839 Bleecker was a member of the original Board of Governors that founded Albany City Hospital, now Albany Medical Center.

Diplomatic career

He was Chargé d'Affaires to the Netherlands from May 12, 1837 to June 28, 1842, initially appointed by President Martin Van Buren, who was friendly with Bleecker and shared his interest in Dutch culture and language. Bleecker was chosen in preference to John Lloyd Stephens, who also aspired to the position. As a practitioner of the traditional Dutch culture as it had been passed down in Albany and a speaker of the old-style Dutch language, Bleecker was very well received by the government and people of the Netherlands. According to often-repeated accounts, when Bleecker presented his credentials, King William supposedly remarked "You speak better Dutch than we do in Holland!"

Retirement and death

After returning to Albany in 1842, Bleecker retired from most public life and business pursuits. From 1846 until his death he was a member of the Executive Committee that organized and oversaw the State Normal College, now the State University of New York at Albany (SUNYA). He died in Albany on July 19, 1849 and was buried at Albany Rural Cemetery, Section 3, Lot 61.

Personal relationships

Harmanus Bleecker maintained numerous friendships and professional relationships, many of which transcended political leanings.

For many years he practiced law with Theodore Sedgwick (1780-1839), the son of Federalist legislator and judge Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813), and he was once engaged to Judge Sedgwick's daughter Catharine Sedgwick. He was also a close friend of Federalist Congressman and Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy (1772–1864).

In addition, Bleecker was a longtime friend of Democrat Martin Van Buren, with whom he shared an interest in the Dutch culture and language.

Harmanus Bleecker also maintained a close friendship with Democratic Congressman and Senator John Randolph (1773–1833). Bleecker and Randolph exchanged portraits as a token of their mutual esteem, and each displayed in his home the portrait of the other.

Philanthropy

Bleecker married Sebastiana Cornelia Mentz of Arnhem, a woman many years younger than him, whom he met while he was a diplomat in the Netherlands. She lived with him in Albany, and inherited his estate. They had no children, and after Bleecker's death she married Hendrick Coster and returned to the Netherlands, where she died in 1885. The executors of the Harmanus Bleecker estate, which she left to benefit the City of Albany as Bleecker had requested, decided to spend the $130,000 ($3.32 million in 2012 dollars) to construct and maintain Harmanus Bleecker Hall, a library and theater. In more recent times the building has been renovated as private office space, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Legacy

Bleecker was the subject of a biography, 1924's Harmanus Bleecker: An Albany Dutchman, 1779-1849, by Harriet Langdon Pruyn Rice. Harriet Rice was the daughter of John V. L. Pruyn and granddaughter of Amasa J. Parker. John Pruyn and Amasa Parker had been involved in the disposition of Bleecker's estate, which gave Harriet Rice access to Bleecker's papers.